Moisture content question

[Don W]

I have a moisture meter I've always used for woodworking, but I don't trust it for now staves, especially ones roughed out and I don't like driving pin holes in it anyhow.

I've set up a heat tube which is just stove pipe with a bulb in the bottom. A roughed out bow will drop about .02 ozs a day in it.

The question, if I leave the stave in until it doesn't drop (say 2 days in a row) is there any chance it will be to dry? Should it be more than 2 days, etc, etc?

[BowEd]

Don....I don't use a moisture meter either.I put my staves or roughed out bows in the house some time before I work on them.Anywhere from a month to 2 months.I keep it at 50% humidity in the area they are in.Even staves that have been drying for over a year in the shed get this treatment.
I go by the moisture/humidity guide in TBB book.

The wood will acclimate to it's surrounding humidity.9% moisture or below for most woods and down to 6% for hickory.

[George Tsoukalas]

I use mine. I like 6-8% for hickory and 8-10% for all other woods.

I use it only on the belly so pin holes don't matter. I keep using it'll through out the bow making process. When I get a reading greater than I want I stop and let it dry. That way I get around only getting surface readings.

My meter has served me well.

Jawge

[willie]

I have a moisture meter I've always used for woodworking, but I don't trust it for now staves, especially ones roughed out and I don't like driving pin holes in it anyhow.

I've set up a heat tube which is just stove pipe with a bulb in the bottom. A roughed out bow will drop about .02 ozs a day in it.

The question, if I leave the stave in until it doesn't drop (say 2 days in a row) is there any chance it will be to dry? Should it be more than 2 days, etc, etc?

.02 ounce is 1/2 a gram. seems like an amount that could vary day to day with humidity changes without any added heat.   just how hot is the air in your tube above ambient?, or the wood when you test?

[Allyn T]

In the winter my unfinished bow would drop 0.2 oz a day just sitting in the living room with no extra heat

[Don W]

I have a moisture meter I've always used for woodworking, but I don't trust it for now staves, especially ones roughed out and I don't like driving pin holes in it anyhow.

I've set up a heat tube which is just stove pipe with a bulb in the bottom. A roughed out bow will drop about .02 ozs a day in it.

The question, if I leave the stave in until it doesn't drop (say 2 days in a row) is there any chance it will be to dry? Should it be more than 2 days, etc, etc?

.02 ounce is 1/2 a gram. seems like an amount that could vary day to day with humidity changes without any added heat.   just how hot is the air in your tube above ambient?, or the wood when you test?

It's a consistent dropping. I don't know the temp, but it's warmer than the outside air but not hot. The bows feel warm, but not by a lot.  It's definitely not like sticking knofe scales in the toaster oven at 140, so it's less than that.

[willie]

20-30 degrees temp difference can make drying come along nicely.  If you dont live in a desert, it shouldn't over dry your wood if you get to a point where you see no weight loss in a week.  (holding steady at + - gram)

[willie]

20-30 degrees temp difference can make drying come along nicely.  If you dont live in a desert, it shouldn't over dry your wood if you get to a point where you see no weight loss in a week.  (holding steady at plus or minus a gram)